AUTHOR=Zang Xinshan , Geng Xiaoli , He Kexiang , Wang Fei , Tian Xuejun , Xin Mingming , Yao Yingyin , Hu Zhaorong , Ni Zhongfu , Sun Qixin , Peng Huiru 

TITLE=Overexpression of the Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) TaPEPKR2 Gene Enhances Heat and Dehydration Tolerance in Both Wheat and Arabidopsis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.01710

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2018.01710

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Wheat (<italic>Triticum aestivum</italic> L.) yield and quality are adversely affected by heat, drought, or the combination of these two stresses in many regions of the world. A phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase-related kinase gene, <italic>TaPEPKR2</italic>, was identified from our previous heat stress-responsive transcriptome analysis of heat susceptible and tolerant wheat cultivars. Based on the wheat cultivar Chinese Spring genome sequence, <italic>TaPEPKR2</italic> was mapped to chromosome 5B. Expression analysis revealed that <italic>TaPEPKR2</italic> was induced by heat and polyethylene glycol treatment. To analyze the function of <italic>TaPEPKR2</italic> in wheat, we transformed it into the wheat cultivar Liaochun10, and observed that the transgenic lines exhibited enhanced heat and dehydration stress tolerance. To examine whether <italic>TaPEPKR2</italic> exhibits the same function in dicotyledonous plants, we transformed it into <italic>Arabidopsis</italic>, and found that its overexpression functionally enhanced tolerance to heat and dehydration stresses. Our results imply that <italic>TaPEPKR2</italic> plays an important role in both heat and dehydration stress tolerance, and could be utilized as a candidate gene in transgenic breeding.</p>